On 13th death anniversary, fans still await opening of Sivaji statue

TRICHY: The inauguration of the statue of veteran actor SivajiGanesan still seems to be mirage after nearly three years of its installation in Trichy. The delay has caused disappointment among his fans, who expressed their frustration while observing his 13th death anniversary on Sunday.

As a result of efforts from fans of actor Sivaji Ganesan, a nine-feet high bronze statue on a three-feet raised platform was constructed at 'Prabath Roundabout' at Palakkarai in Trichy in 2010 during the DMK regime. However, there was not much to cheer as the statue is yet to see the light of day.

At this juncture, his fans on Sunday observed his 13th death anniversary at a few places in Trichy. At a programme held at Puthur Naal Road, Trichy district Sivaji Makkal Iyakkam observed the anniversary where the fans garlanded his portrait.

Frustrated by the delay, S Annadurai, the district president of the fans club told TOI, "It is very disheartening that a statue of a famous actor who brought laurels to Tamil cinema is not unveiled for no reason. We are exhausted after appealing to the state government to give nod for the inauguration. Though we have constructed the statue of our hero, today we are unable to pay homage to him in front of his statue. But we hope the approval would soon be given for the inauguration."

Another section of fans felt that the inauguration should not be delayed because of any political reasons. G K Murali, former general secretary of Sivaji Mandram said, "The statue of our beloved star is now losing its sheen due to the delay for undisclosed reasons. We are all baffled as to how to untie the mysterious knot over the inauguration of the statue. Moreover, we demand that a man who got a unique place in cinema world should not be disrespected for political reasons."